Sorry to hear of your experience..... it sure can be frustrating. Hope you have better luck next time for sure.
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Frustrating Apple Store Line experience today
- Thread starter RetiredInFl
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I certainly agree that Apple can't restrict the sale of phones based on assumptions of what they feel the purchaser is going to do with the phones. There would be a lot of people offended and to be quite frank, it would end up being a form of racism. However, there are things that Apple could do to ensure that end users are getting the phones (that's assuming that Apple want this of course). These could include:
- Insist on Apple ID or email address at time of purchase (would limit but not prevent bulk buying) or sending an SMS with authorisation code to a mobile number before purchase (they do that on some networks in the UK to verify the account holder)
- Have a waiting list system like previous years (fairest system)
- Ask for ID
- Insist on card payment either for all transactions or when more than one device is being purchased
- Open device, setup device or activate in store
None of these are foolproof but would assist in ensuring more genuine end-users could obtain phones especially when stock is so limited (or demand is outstripping supply).
LMAO! This place is great! I'll go back to read only mode reading all the "POLL: What color do you prefer?" or POLL: How many iPhones did you exchange? threads. They are much more mind stimulating discussions. 
Imagine being really hungry and waiting in line for food and it runs out before you reach the distributor.
That's not to say you shouldn't enjoy life and buy fun things for yourself--but keep it all in perspective.
That's not to say you shouldn't enjoy life and buy fun things for yourself--but keep it all in perspective.
I agree with not selling full price phones until inventory stabilizes unless the person buying is an existing account holder who is replacing their phone with the new phone. Open in store. Activate in store. It would curb most of the major bulk purchases.
man that stinks. I feel ya there... I've only waited in line for an apple device once and it was my own fault for not ordering right to begin with. The only real thing Apple could do is offer priority to people who are activating in-store, that day... but again, why would apple care... they're selling a phone.
I think people may be too quick to say this is racism though. I define racism as the belief that a person or persons are inferior on a legal or social class basis because of their ethnic origin. The OP isn't saying this, and he admits that the group he referred to was perfectly entitled to buy what they were willing to pay for.
Saying that a bunch of people conspired to be as bunch of inconsiderate jerks is different from saying they should have fewer legal rights or should be ostracized for their backgrounds.
I think these are things that Apple should consider. People who are buying the products to use them shouldn't be crowded out by scalpers who happen to have the time and capital to bully the marketplace.
Me too but I suspect the majority of people who are defending them did not experience problems getting an iPhone 5S or have no attempted to get an iPhone 5S.
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They were initially but I think a lot of phones were/are being exported to other countries.
Which simply creates an industry to clandestinely unlock it.......
And why shouldn't apple sell phones that can work overseas?
Simple economics.
Yeah. I highly doubt if they didn't get a 5s because these scalpers got in the front of the line to buy 5s's in bulk they would go, " Oh well. I clearly didn't work hard enough to get one and didn't deserve it as much as them".
You want apple to only do credit card transactions? Not everyone has a credit card. Some people save up and use cash for their transactions.
You want all purchases attached to an Apple ID? What about people switching from an Android/Google platform. They do not have Apple IDs.
All of the ideas being thrown out limit customers and are discriminatory. Because you don't have a credit card you can't buy an iPhone? Ridiculous!!!
You want all purchases attached to an Apple ID? What about people switching from an Android/Google platform. They do not have Apple IDs.
All of the ideas being thrown out limit customers and are discriminatory. Because you don't have a credit card you can't buy an iPhone? Ridiculous!!!
No. We did actually.
I have a 5c because I couldn't find a 5s, and needed to replace an impaired iP4. While I had later located several 5s's later on, I eventually settled on keeping the 5c, but that is rather immaterial to this discussion. Did I complain? Did I try to Identify and classify the people that were confounding my planned 5s acquisition? Did I blame anyone but my own dedication to finding what I wanted? Hell no!
The problem is that you think you are somehow more deserving of getting the iPhone than these "ethnic gangs" you so colorfully describe. Let's break this down nice and simple. We have a relatively free market economy here when it comes to consumer goods. Your dollar is worth as much as the next persons'. It has absolutely zilch to do with who is HOLDING that dollar. The dollar has the economic power and the market vote. YOU have NOTHING, unless you are there to buy first, are better informed to buy with less competition, or are willing to hand over MORE of those dollars to make your tender more attractive too the seller who should by design only see the dollars and not YOU. Again, you somehow think that apple should see the value of YOU in addition to the value of your dollars.
Capitalism is a cold, unforgiving system, but I love it. The only color it sees is green. If you are sitting here complaining about "YOUR" iPhone being sold out from under you, you are waisting resources and need to go hit the road and find one. The pricing is VERY fair and without discrimination from both apple and the carriers.
When I waited 4 hours and it was my turn to take a ticket the manager told me they were out of Verizon 64GB in Gold. They told me they only had space gray left. The manager told me to wait off to the side and she would have someone recheck stock. I waited 15 minutes and was handed a ticket for a Verizon 64Gb Gold.
When I was told I wasn't going to get what I wanted my reaction was not anger at scalpers. My reaction was "I will try again next week and get here earlier." Like I said, just because they work harder to get stock doesn't give you the right to complain. Get up earlier, drive further, work harder and you will get the iPhone you want. Or order online and wait the 2-3 weeks and have it delivered to your home.
The sense of entitlement coming from some of you is ridiculous.
Frustrating Apple Store Line experience today
Actually, I'd say that Apple should value the happiness of its retail customers and loyal user base.
I like Apple products, but if the buying experience was that ridiculous and a waste of time, I'd buy a Moto X in a heartbeat. iPhone isn't so magically better than the competition that it's worth a bad buying experience.
Actually, I'd say that Apple should value the happiness of its retail customers and loyal user base.
I like Apple products, but if the buying experience was that ridiculous and a waste of time, I'd buy a Moto X in a heartbeat. iPhone isn't so magically better than the competition that it's worth a bad buying experience.
Why is this ridiculous? There are many things you can't buy without a credit card like renting a car, etc.
Nope. Capitalism. If I don't get satisfactory service from one company, I'll take my business elsewhere.
It is only ridiculous because the product is quite popular.
Apple does value the happiness of it's retail customer base, but the only way to be more exclusive equitably would be to increase prices as an economic barrier to customers that the OP finds undesirable. I see no problem with what apple has done. They just sent 56 happy customers away, and one unhappy person who was a few minutes too late to que up that day.
Work harder? You mean have no life and get in line two days before launch? How long before launch should I start to camp out in front of the Apple Store? This whole, "work harder" is more ridiculous than me feeling, " entitled" to an iPhone. I don't feel entitled to an iPhone, but it doesn't mean I won't be pissed if scalpers lined up en mass to buy iPhone's to export for massive profit margins that ended up leading up to actual users not getting an iPhone.
It's legal and it's the dark side of capitalism. Car dealers that mark up cars beyond MSRP is legal. Doesn't mean I won't be pissed at it. Frankly, I don't know how Apple can fight it beyond what they are doing now without as others have said discriminate against other buyers without credit cards, etc.
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